


The Frost Covered Crown

by timelostdoctor (orphan_account)



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Witch Hunter!AU, but not a witcher au please understand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27287686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/timelostdoctor
Summary: With witches fiercely hunted by the crown, Anna fears the worst when her sister goes missing. However, something within her feels that a more sinister force is at play. Enlisting the help of the one man who could ruin her life, Anna hires Kristoff Bjorgman: the best witch hunter in the land. They have to learn to trust one another, for not only is Elsa missing, but it's the middle of summer...and snow is starting to fall.New summary by the fantastic frozenwritingcorner on tumblr.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all. I had a few issues and maybe deleted everything but I want to be back now, so I'm reposting this. I will try to make an update every couple weeks.

This land used to be different. Beautiful. Glistening. A place of wonder. A land of magic. Blazing with power and prestige. That was before. Before King Runeard’s father took the throne.

Before magic was outlawed. Before witches were persecuted and forced into hiding. Before even the smallest bit of luck was enough to earn a distrustful look from those around you. Before high ransom was placed on the head of any known witch brought in alive.

Before King Runeard’s son ran away with a witch.

The rumor, which is now more of a legend, says that Prince Agnarr fell in love with a witch. A lower noble, most likely, who had the most startling blue eyes and the most vibrant smile in all the land. They spent time together, both in study and leisure, and soon Prince Agnarr knew he loved Lady Iduna.

But Iduna had a frightening secret, and she was terrified of Agnarr finding out. Iduna was a witch. Her magic was not strong, but she could control wind. Witches stronger than her could have caused tornadoes or other destructive events, but Iduna could not. Sometimes, Agnarr thought it was simply that she would not.

Agnarr discovered Iduna’s secret one day. She was trying to put a book away on a shelf she could not reach and after looking around and not seeing Agnarr walking through the door, used her magic to float high enough to put the book away. To Iduna’s surprise, Agnarr didn’t care about her magic. He suggested they run away together, so they could be together away from King Runeard, who would throw Iduna into the dungeon.

Iduna agreed. The pocketed some silver, put on servant clothing, and ran through the night. The traveled for a while before finding a place to settle, where they built a home and had two beautiful daughters, who were also witches. And so they have lived happily ever since.  
*  
“Oh, Papa, imagine if you really were a prince!” Anna giggled. “Then we could just change the rules!”

Agnarr shared a long look with his wife. “Yes, changing the rules would be an ideal thing for a prince to do.”

A quieter voice broke through the strange silence that had fallen in the house. “Papa, are you the prince?” Elsa, her hands clasped in together in her lap, looked hopeful.

Iduna sat next to her eldest daughter. “Do you think we would live so close to the castle, so close to King Runeard, if your father was a runaway prince?”

The young girl shrugged, pulling her white-blonde braid over her shoulder. “I guess not.” She didn’t sound wholly convinced, but Agnarr stood up and placed a kiss on both girl’s cheeks.

“Well, that is enough for one night, I believe. Perhaps tomorrow, I’ll have your mother rescue me from a fearsome troll queen. Does that sound nice?”

Anna grinned and nodded, eyes wide and glittering. “Yes.”

Elsa just smiled and watched as her parents shut the door. Something about tonight’s fable had unlocked something in her young mind, and now she would never stop putting that puzzle together until she had every piece.


	2. Kristoff

Kristoff yawned into the early morning sun. The fire in the hearth had died while he was sleeping, but the summer nights were warm, so he it hadn’t woken him. He scratched the scruff of beard he had grown since his last shave and muttered under his breath. A beard in winter did well, but in summer he hated them. The little cottage wasn’t much, but he had built it with his own two hands, so it was at least something no one could take from him.

He walked out into a light breeze. The air was unusually chilly for this time of year, and that was something Kristoff took notice of. He narrowed his eyes, reaching out and splaying his fingers, letting the air flow around them. There was a faint thickness about the air, the coolness of it.

It was magic.

Kristoff stood in the open air until the breeze died down, but the feeling didn’t go away. There was a witch somewhere near him. It was a ridiculous choice for a witch to make, to come close to his cabin. By now anything magical had been long cleared away from him, by choice or by force.

He lived just inside the forest, where the trees were thinnest. He could see through the trees to the front of his cabin easily, but around the back was much more difficult. That lead through the forest proper and up to the northern mountains. The breeze came again, softer this time, but still with the faint thickness of magic. Was the witch fleeing?

With a huff, Kristoff went back inside and pulled on his clothes, grabbing a sword, bow, and quiver. Then he went to the small stable to the side of his house and pulled Sven from his single stall. “Okay buddy, I think we have someone to find. And if we don’t, maybe we can catch dinner.” He swung himself up onto the reindeer and sat off at a brisk pace.

The forest behind his house was clear, though the uneasy feeling never left him. Something wasn’t right, and he knew it. Still, there was only so much terrain to cover before he called it a day and bagged a couple rabbits. After he returned home, he spent time brushing Sven and talking to him. The reindeer was a better listener than most people were willing to admit.

The rest of his evening was spent with the rabbits, and by the time he had cooked his dinner, night had fallen. He walked to his open window, reaching for the shutters and looking out at the tree line. The feeling of magic was still there, outside, and he couldn’t shake it. He would have to ride into town in the morning to see if something had happened. Maybe one of the other witch hunters had caught a powerful witch, instead of the lesser witches that had been all anyone saw of late.

He slammed the shutters closed and snuffed out all but one candle, preparing for bed, when a pounding came to his door. He eyed the wooden door for a moment, and then the pounding came again. Taking his sword in hand, he moved slowly to the door and opened it, sword raised at the knocker.

A young woman stood in front of him. There was silence between them as he took her in. The full moon shown down, illuminating her red hair and dark cloak. He tighten his grip on the sword, pressing it forward just a little more. She had magic, he could feel it. Stronger than the faint remnants on the breeze this morning. She didn’t flinch from him, her green eyes boring into him with a fiery determination. “I need your help.”

Kristoff narrowed his eyes at her. “A witch needs the help of a witch hunter? What’s to stop me from taking you to the castle right now?”

She swallowed but showed no other sign of nervousness. “Nothing, except this bag of gold.” She lofted a small bag up, the look on her face telling Kristoff she knew she had won. He couldn’t let her get by that easy.

“What do you want from me?” Kristoff’s question was cautious. He knew the danger witches posed, the tricks they could pull.

This time a flicker of something ran across the woman’s face. “I need you to do your job. Find a witch.”

Was she serious? Was this some sort of test? Would one witch turn in another? Another breeze blew into the cabin, and the thickness was still on the wind. “Leave the breeze alone,” he grumbled.

“What?” She looked confused, and Kristoff sighed. He could feel his defenses lowering already. He put himself back on guard, raising the sword he hadn’t realized was lowering. Was that her doing?

“I said,” Kristoff said slowly and carefully, “leave the breeze alone.”

The witch seemed nonplused. “I’m not doing anything to the breeze.” They stood in silence for a few more moments, Kristoff trying his best to know what to do in such an unusual situation. “Are you taking the job, or not?” The witch pulled herself up to a larger height, doing her best to look so serious that it turned comical.

Kristoff lowered his sword. “Okay. I’ll find this with and take her in for you.” His hands were just closing around the bag of gold when it was pulled away.

“No!” yelled the witch. “You can’t turn her in. I just need her found. It’s my sister. She’s missing.”

This day kept getting weirder. “Fine.” He could help this one find the other one, and then take them both to the crown if he really wanted to.

There was just...something different about a witch coming to him that he wanted to understand first. “I’m Anna. We leave now.” She turned away from him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“No, Anna. I need to sleep. We can leave at first light.” Kristoff was already shutting the door, but her foot stopped it.

Her gazed brokered no argument. “We leave at once. My sister’s life is on the line. You’re supposed to be the best witch hunter in the entire land. So hunt.”

The witch turned and walked to a horse. With a shake of his head, Kristoff followed. He couldn’t gage his intuition on this one. His senses had left him, but now the witch didn’t seem the type to take no for an answer, so rather than argue all night, they could put in a couple miles and make camp. It was all the same to him. It didn’t take long for him to prep Sven and be ready, leading the reindeer beside of the witch’s horse.

Just as Kristoff had thought, the witch started yawning not long after they started out. By the time they reached a spot for camp, she was practically asleep on her horse. Kristoff was feeling the early morning and the ride they would have to take tomorrow. Maybe he could get more information from her in the morning and find out more about this other witch he was supposed to find.

They set up camp, both pulling out bedrolls and sleeping under the canopy of trees. They didn’t bother to build a fire, and Kristoff refused to untack Sven, but the settled into an uneasy quiet. Kristoff didn’t want to go to sleep around the witch, but eventually he fell into the world between dreams and wakefulness.

Then the witch was screaming.


	3. Anna

The night has more bite to it than a normal summer night, but Anna ignores that by snuggling deeper into her bedroll. She should probably be more distrustful of this man, the witch-hunter, that she paid to find her sister, but she isn’t. She’s always believed herself to be a good judge of character, and she trusts Kristoff. Even if they just met. Even if she shouldn’t. It helps that she’s exhausted. She spent so much time looking for Elsa, since just after dawn, and now the moon was high in the sky, and she was tired, so it wasn’t a surprise when she drifted off to sleep before Kristoff had even settled into his bedroll.

It felt like the next moment, but with the position of the moon, it had been some time since she had fallen asleep. Her eyes were still heavy and she wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but she couldn’t. Her horse and the reindeer were antsy. Something was wrong. She glanced over to Kristoff, who seemed to be sound asleep. Then she heard it, just on the edge of her hearing. A growl.

Anna cautiously got to her feet, suddenly wide awake. A growl could be anything but she was betting it wasn’t anything good. Just behind a tree she saw a glint in the moonlight - a reflection of an eye. Her breath caught in her throat and she rushed to the animals, thinking to untie them and wake Kristoff before the animals closed rank, but she had just slipped her horse’s tie from the branch when a vicious snarl ripped through he air. A wolf leapt toward her and she screamed, throwing her hands up and backing away. More came out of the woods, lips raised and menacing.

Kristoff jumped out of his bedroll, a sword already drawn. He swore and raised his sword, lowering himself into a fighting stance. “Get the animals unhooked. Our best chance is to try to outrun them.”

Anna swallowed. Her heart was in her chest and her hands trembling as she untied Sven. Her horse had disappeared, and she cursed her luck. She was tugging on the reindeer’s reins, trying to get the stubborn animal to move closer to Kristoff. She saw a wolf jump at Kristoff and he swung, hitting the animal with a loud swish-thud and an angry mixture of a snarl and yelp. Another tried to attack him, but he managed to dodge it.

As the wolves recovered and the third began closing in on him, Anna cast about for a weapon she could grab. Then she saw a newly fallen branch under a tree. She rushed forward and grabbed it, turning and smashing it into the first wolf. The wolf ran off, limping, and howled. The other two wolves backed off and followed.

Anna was breathing hard. “That was intense,” she said. “Do you fight wolves often?”

Kristoff scowled at her. “No.” He picks up the bedrolls and Anna’s back and attaches them to the reindeer. “Why didn’t you use magic?”

“It wouldn’t have helped.” Anna sighed. “Elsa is the strong one. I have healing magic. Weak healing magic. I can fix bruises and scratches, maybe speed up a broken bone. Nothing impressive. I’m more my fathers daughter than my mothers. They were both so powerful.” A glimmer of a smile came and vanished before Anna realized it had even started. Then she clapped her hands. “Well, we’re already awake. We should keep moving. My sister isn’t going to find herself.”

Kristoff looked like he wanted to argue but instead he nodded. “We should. The wolves could come back. Since Anna’s horse is still missing, most likely back at the stable she had rented it from, Kristoff helps her onto the reindeer before getting on himself.

The terrain is easy and Kristoff seems to know where he’s going, so Anna tries to relax. Even if she is with the best witch-hunter in the country. Even if she had no reason to trust his word. Even if, especially if, he hates magic so much that he makes a career of hunting her kind.

“Why do you hate magic so much?” The words are soft, not meant to be spoken, but they are. Anna clamps her mouth tight after they leave, but the damage has been done. She feels Kristoff stiffen.

“Why is your sister missing?” It wasn’t an answer, but it was a opening. A way to start a conversation, and Anna grabbed onto it.

Anna shrugged. “I woke up just after dawn this morning and she was gone. She’s been distant recently. More than usual, anyway, but then she just vanished. No trace of her, no note, but she packed a few supplies so I don’t think she was taken.”

The reindeer’s pace slowed. “You’re trying to track down a witch who ran away.”

Anna scowled. “She didn’t run away. Not like you mean. Elsa has always been, felt, different. She thinks I can pass as a non-witch in the city, but there is no way she could ever do that. Her magic is too much for that. I think she was trying to send me off for what she thinks would be a better life.”

“And you disagree?”

“I do.” Anna bit her lip. “I’m lost without Elsa. Since our parents...she’s the only thing I have. I don’t care about anything else.”

There was a small silence, but despite the owls hoots and the reindeer stepping on twigs, it still seemed too silent. Kristoff seemed to think the same thing. “What are Elsa’s powers like?”

“Ice. Cold. She controls it, I think. She can make snow and frost and all manner of amazing things,” Anna said. She leaned over from behind him, trying to see what was up ahead. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s always good to know what I’m up against,” Kristoff said.

The statement made Anna’s stomach churn. “Don’t forget you’re just helping me find her. We aren’t doing anything else.”

“I remember what you said,” Kristoff said.

There was another silence now, this one longer, but Anna didn’t care. Was she really letting herself be led by this man, who was her enemy. Who loved to watch her kind suffer? She was going to be sick. She opened her mouth to demand to be let off the reindeer, when Kristoff spoke again.

“What do your parents think of your magic?”

“Like I said, mother was a good witch. She had air magic. She could make a breeze, or hold someone up, or do whatever she wanted, really, with the help of the air. Our house was never too hot in the summer because of her and Elsa.” Anna smiled at the memory. “Our dad wasn’t a witch, though. He focused on the house and working. He was a carpenter. Everyone loved his work and had a small shop in the town.”

“Was his father a carpenter, then? In this town?” Kristoff asked.

Anna shook her head. “I don’t know. Father and mother never told us about their lives before us. They made up tales, but they were always fables meant to entertain and nothing more.”

Anna was lost in her thoughts for a while after that, only focusing again when the reindeer stopped moving. “I need more than the little sleep I got, and I’m willing to bet you do as well. We’ll make camp here and break at first light.”

Anna nodded. This time she listened when Kristoff said to leave everything on Sven. They settle quickly into their bedrolls. “You never answered my question,” Anna said. “I answered all of yours. Why do you hate witches so much?” She knew he wasn’t sleeping, and yet, when she looked over, he appeared to be in the deepest sleep of his life. With a sigh, Anna rolled onto her side and prayed that no wolves would come this time.

First light seemed to come to early, and yet the blinding rays of sun would not stop poking through her eyelids. She groaned as she sat up wiping away the remnants of drool from the corner of her mouth. She tried to open her eyes, but the sun reflecting off the snow was too bright.

“What?” she whispered and squinted between her lashes. Snow. Snow all around. Just a light layer right now, but it was still slowly drifting down. “It’s summer.” Then her brain caught up with what she was seeing. She scrambled to her feet, rushing thought the camp and waking Kristoff, ignoring his confused comments.

It was the middle of summer and there was snow on the ground.

Elsa was in trouble.


	4. Kristoff

It was one thing to be abruptly awoken in the middle of the night by a witch because of wolves and quite another to be roughly shaken because of snow. The witch was gathering their few loose supplies like her life depended on it. Kristoff took a deep breath and then paused. The air was saturated with magic. 

Of course. Kristoff jumped from his own bedroll, defenses on high alert. Hadn’t the witch said her sister had powers of ice and snow? Clearly something sinister was going on. He only prayed that he hadn’t been led into a trap. Taking a risk, he closed his eyes and felt beyond his senses. The cold, the snow, the magic, was coming from a long distance, well up the North Mountain. If she was able to do this from that far away, what was she like close up? It would take a team of well-trained witch hunters and some soldiers to take her down. 

A glance at the witch he had followed, had allowed to lead him here, and the confusion he had felt stirred again. Despite Kristofff’s certainty that this had been a trap mere moments ago, he could not convince himself the witch before him meant any harm. He walked behind her quietly, unheard through the soft snow. She was muttering to herself.

“Please don’t be hurt. I’m coming as fast as I can. Please be safe when I get there.” Then she took in a shaky breath and turned, jumping when she saw him so close. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you doing?” 

A snowflake landed on her eyelash. In the half-second before she reacted to it, he took in the blue of her iris, the freckles on her cheeks, the dark lashes the flake had caught on. Then she blinked and the snowflake was gone, replaced by memories of other witches who had been beautiful. 

“I need to go back to the city. She’s too powerful. She could kill us both easily.” Kristoff started checking Sven’s tack. “Or worse.”

“What?” This was the loudest Kristoff had heard the witch. He watched as she visibly panicked. “You can’t do that. They will kill her, Kristoff.” 

Watching her as she stared at him, her chest heaving from the fear apparent on her face, he fought with himself. This witch they were tracking was clearly both dangerous and powerful, but with the sister clearly on his side, maybe he could talk her down long enough to clear the way for himself. If the sisters distracted each other, he could disable them both. With the bounty from this powerful witch they were tracking, he would have enough gold to do what he had always dreamed of. 

The amount of ifs and guesswork make him apprehensive, but he decided to press on. There was time to change his mind if he wanted to.

Kristoff held his hands up. “Okay, we’ll keep going, then.” 

The witch promptly took off in the wrong direction and Kristoff sighed. “Anna, this way.”

“Oh, right.” Her mouth twitched like she was trying to not smile at him. 

Hours later, they were trudging up the north mountain. It was getting colder, the snow thicker and heavier as it fell. They had already stopped to eat twice, and now the witch was pressed against Kristoff’s back as Sven plodded along. He could feel her every breath as it rose and fell, every time she shifted her weight, the ice of her hands pressed against his stomach. There were times he had to remind himself she wasn’t an ordinary woman but a witch, something vile and filled with hatred.

“Tell me about your childhood,” Kristoff said. He didn’t know why he had asked, but maybe this would expose the warts she may be hiding.

“What do you want to know?” Her cheek was pressed hard against his shoulder, and he felt the subtle movements of her mouth as she spoke through his too-thin-for-winter clothing. 

Kristoff hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a specific question. “What is your favorite memory?”

“When we were younger, before bed I would always ask my father how he and mother met, and he would make up some of the most outrageous stories.” Her grip around Kristoff’s middle tightened as she thought of the memory. “Mother would be listening as well, often snuggling with us. My favorite one that I asked father to tell the most often was when he was a dashing pirate captain, and mother was a siren.” She laughed a little. “Elsa’s was the tale of Prince Agnarr and Lady Iduna, who ran away to escape King Runeard. I think Elsa thought our father was actually a long lost prince for a while.”

Kristoff laughed. “Your sister seriously thought your father was the lost prince?” 

“What lost prince?” Anna asked.

Kristoff tried to turn his head to see Anna, but she was so close to him and so small that all he could see was some of her hair. “King Runeard did have a son who disappeared. There are all sorts of rumors about where he went.”

“There is no way that was our father. He was a carpenter. Would a prince really lower himself so much?” Anna scoffed. “I think Elsa just wished it so that father could take over and changed the laws on witches.”

"What happened to your parents?"

Suddenly Kristoff's back was blasted with cold air as Anna sat up. "Oh. Um." She took a deep breath. "They died a few years ago, when I was about fifteen." She cleared her throat. "Do you remember when the bounty for witches was raised? My dad and been in town and saw a mob coming our way to hunt. He was trying to get to us so we could hide, but he wasn’t fast enough. Elsa and I were in the forest and hid up in the trees, but they got our mother and father. Dragged them away after beating them into submissions.”

“Your mother didn’t use her magic to fend them off?”

Anna made a sound between a laugh and a snort that sounded like she couldn’t believe he had even asked such a question. “That would just confirm what they feared. They would have killed them right there. There is a chance my parents are still alive.”

“I’m sorry,” Kristoff said, and he found that he really was. He knew if her parents were taken during the raids they were dead, no matter who did or didn’t have magic. Nearly as many witch sympathisers were killed during that time as witches. Anna was quiet after that. She didn’t lean into him for warmth as she had before, her grip was loosened around him, and she didn’t speak. 

They rode in silence for a time. It was nearing dark so Kristoff was searching for a place to make camp as they rode when he saw movement. He brought Sven to a halt and listened. There was a strange shuffling sound in a grove of trees. Then something came out. It was small enough to be a child, but the movements weren’t right. The sounds weren’t right. He squinted, trying to make out what it was. 

The witch excitedly hit Kristoff’s shoulder. “Look, Kristoff, it’s a Snowgie. We’re going the right way!” 

Kristoff watched the creature with caution. “What is a Snowgie?” 

“It’s a creature that Elsa makes sometimes. They’re cute, even if they do like to get into trouble. Just little things like hiding the fire poker or making a mess.” 

“Like it’s alive?” Kristoff had only heard tales of witches who could perform such feats. 

The witch laughed. “Well, yes.” The excitement in her voice started dissipating. “She doesn’t make them on purpose, most of the time. They mostly come when she’s sick. Kristoff we have to keep going.”

Kristoff shook his head. She could imitate life. “No, we don’t.” He started to turn Sven around.

“What are you doing?” 

“What I should have done from the start. Getting help.” The punch on his back surprised him, both in the happening and the strength. 

The thump he heard just half a second later also surprised him. “You can’t do this,” Anna yelled. Tears were streaming down her face. “She’s my sister, and you promised you would help.”

Kristoff looked at her and shook his head. “She can imitate life, Anna. She is more powerful than any witch I’ve ever faced. Do you really think she won’t hesitate killing me or you if we find her and she doesn’t want to be found.”

Anna’s face, the witch’s face, scrunched with incredulity. “Yes. She isn’t a murderer, Kristoff!” She pulled in a steadying breath. “If you won’t help, fine. Keep the gold for getting me this far, but don’t come back.” She turned on her heel and marched forward, back ramrod straight. Kristoff watched for a minute before turning Sven around and heading in the opposite direction, back to the city. 

It didn’t take long for Kristoff’s self-righteous belief to start to fade. The woman he left back there might have been a witch, but he had already begun thinking of her differently. And she was alone in the frigid cold. He thought of her earlier attempt to lead the search, how she had gone the wrong way, and knew he needed to go back for her. She would die before she ever made it to her sister.

So he turned yet again. Dark had well and truly fell, but the moonlight glinting off the snow helped light the way. He didn’t think she could have gotten very far, but he rode for longer than he had expected, following the tracks she had made in the snow. He stopped when he heard voice, slipping quietly off Sven and silently making his way through the trees. 

“No, I can’t go back,” an unfamiliar voice said. “They will kill me, Anna.”

“Then we can keep going together.” Anna’s voice. She had found her sister after all. “We’ll go somewhere different.”

He peaked around the tree he was hiding behind. He could see the two women standing there, facing each other. Anna he recognized, but the other one had her back to him. All he saw was a long blonde braid and her hands moving as she spoke. 

“I told you, I can’t. I’m dangerous. Look around you. I can’t stop it. I’ve tried. I’ve been trying. It won’t stop. So I need to get as far away as I can.” Elsa turned without warning, her eyes meeting Kristoff’s. She stepped in front of Anna, holding her hands up. “Whoever you are, leave. Now.”

Kristoff cursed himself for not readying a weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I wrote anything at all, so let me know your thoughts! Criticism always welcome.


	5. Anna

Anna cursed herself. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted that witch hunter, but really, what choice had she been left with. She needed to find her sister and she would have never made it this far if it hadn’t been for Kristoff. Everything looked the same. Trees, snow, and the slowly setting sun to her left. There wasn’t a difference in where she was walking now and where she had been five minutes ago. 

That wasn’t true. There was one difference. It was freezing. Even with the cooler clothing, when she was pressed against Krisoff she was warm.Now she was alone. She’d even forgotten her pack. She groaned when she realized that. At least she could eat snow for water, but what was she going to do for food, or warmth? Storming off hadn’t been the brightest idea. She just didn’t have a choice! 

Kristoff was going to murder her sister and not only would it be her fault, but she would have led the charge. At least this way she can get to Elsa first. She can fix the mess she’s made. And then she can fix whatever is wrong with Elsa. 

As the dark grew, the temperature dropped. Anna shivered, arms wrapped around herself, shoulders hunched against the wind as she walked through the trees looking for any sign of Elsa. She considered calling out but decided against it. She was ready to give up and find some way to warm herself when a voice comes from her right. She can’t make out the words, but the melody is familiar, and she followed the voice, more certain with each step that she finally found Elsa. 

She made it into a small clearing and saw a woman with white-blonde hair gathering wood. “Elsa,” she breathed. Then she moved faster, toward her. She spoke louder. “Elsa!”

Elsa’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “Anna?” Her voice was confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask you the same thing.” Anna’s voice is quiet and wavering from the cold. “You just left.”

Elsa noticed Anna’s shivering. “You’re freezing, Anna.” She pulls off the cloak she was wearing and wrapped it around Anna, bundling her tightly and shaking her slightly. “It’s too cold for you out here.”

Anna gives a half-shrug. “I needed to find you.” She rubbed her hands together, doing her best to bring back feeling she hadn’t realized she lost. “I was worried about you.”

Elsa sat next to Anna and gestures out to the snow and icy wind.. “I lost control. It won’t stop, no matter what I do.” Elsa wrung her hands together. “I’m going away so no one gets hurt.” She placed her hand on Anna’s shoulder, meeting her gaze. “Especially you.”

Anna stood. “Please come back with me. We can figure this out together. Like we’ve always done everything.”

The pained look on Elsa’s face let Anna know what her sister was about to say. “No, I can’t go back. They will kill me, Anna.” 

Only if they find out,Anna wanted to scream. But she couldn’t, because she had all but ensured they would be discovered when she hired Kristoff. Anna cast about for something else, anything else. “Then we can keep going together. We’ll go somewhere different.” Maybe somewhere outside of this kingdom, where magic was more accepted. Where Elsa could train instead of repress her true nature. Where they would be free from the prison they lived in. 

“I told you, I can’t. I’m dangerous. Look around you.” Elsa sounded desperate for Anna to understand with unshed tears already threatening to splash onto her cheeks. “I can’t stop it. I’ve tried. I’ve been trying. It won’t stop. So I need to get as far away as I can.” 

It felt like someone had punched Anna in the gut. As far as she can get from Anna. Before Anna could even open her mouth to speak, Elsa’s eyes grew wide and she turned, her hands poised for an attack as she moved to block Anna from view.

“Whoever you are, leave. Now.” She sounded menacing even to Anna, which was a feat. Too bad the show was wasted on Kristoff.

Anna stepped forward. “I told you not to come back.”

Elsa shot Anna a questioning glance but kept her focus on Kristoff. 

Kristoff kept a wary watch on Elsa. “I changed my mind.”

“Anna, what were you doing with a witch hunter?” To Kristoff, Elsa probably seemed angry, but Anna knew better. She was worried and scared. A little anger was there, of course, but she was more frightened about what could have happened. It wasn’t the first time Anna had heard the tone. Kristoff tries to step forward, but Elsa shoots an ice beam just in front of his feet. “Don’t move.” 

Anna softly places a hand on Elsa’s back. The wind was blowing harder, so Anna had to yell to be heard. “I had to find you, Elsa. You can’t just leave me all alone.” 

The wind was howling through the trees now. Elsa could barely make her voice heard. “I can’t put you in danger, either.”

“We’re all in danger right now,” Kristoff yelled. “Let’s get to the shelter.” He pointed to a cave where a small fire was glowing like a beacon. “Before this gets any worse.”

The three of them rushed to the cave, Anna immediately going to the fire to defrost. Elsa sat against the wall, her face in her hands. The cave was small, but it did keep out most of the wind. Anna watched Elsa closely. Her magic and her emotions had always gone hand in hand, and the storm outside was a clear indication of the unbroken bond. Anna was so lost in thought she didn’t notice Kristoff until he was directly behind her. He put the blanket from the pack she had left on Sven around her shoulders. “You got too cold.”

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks. And thanks for not betraying me.” He just smiled back and went back to Sven to rummage around in the packs. It wasn’t long before he had a small cooking pot over the fire making a soup. 

“Elsa,” Anna ventured, moving to where her sister was still sitting. “Come to the fire, please.” Elsa let Anna lead her to the fire. Her face was strained, her mouth pulled tightly together, as if she was fighting a losing battle with the words demanding to be said. Then her eyes locked onto Kristoff, and the fight was lost. 

“Did you poison the soup?” Elsa asked. “You won’t get paid if we’re dead.”

Kristoff frowned at her. “I didn’t poison the soup.” To prove his point, he put a spoon in the pot and at the soup directly. “See.”

Elsa didn’t look convinced, but Anna started eating immediately. It was warm, and that was about all that could be said for it. Kristoff had melted snow for water and used what few supplies he had brought along: a couple carrots, some dried meat, a potato all boiled together. 

After everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, Kristoff got out the bedrolls. He handed Anna hers and set his up opposite of where the sisters sat, but close enough that the fire would keep him warm. 

Anna and Elsa followed suit and stayed close to the fire. “Elsa, will you tell me a story?” Anna asked. 

Elsa’s brow creased as she began, “This land used to be different. It was beautiful and glistening.”


End file.
